Africa is growing in innovation and entrepreneurship! Africa has millions of entrepreneurs who are experts in their own markets and who are now looking to technology to differentiate and compete on the global stage

In order to support the startups and developers in this growing region, has announced a new innovation and collaboration space at iHub – the heart of Nairobi’s tech community.
Tapping expertise from IBM’s existing Innovation Centre and Research Lab in Kenya, the new IBM Innovation Space @ iHubwill be an open working environment for software developers and start-ups designed to foster entrepreneurial business growth and provide open access to IBM’s years of global expertise in technology-based innovation.The space will provide early-stage entrepreneurs and start-ups with access to IBM expertise, education and technology tools – especially in the areas of cloud, Big Data analytics, mobile and security. The IBM Innovation Space @ iHub– the first of its kind in Africa – is set to give a boost to the fast growing tech entrepreneur ecosystem in Kenya and beyond.Located inside iHub building in down-town Nairobi, the Innovation Space will be open to any of iHub’s 17,000 members allowing them to drop in and get insight, advice and training from IBM experts in business and technology. IBM will also conduct monthly workshops and events for developers who will also be able to join the IBM Global Entrepreneur program through which they can qualify for free access to IBM Cloud Services and get credits for IBM’s Bluemix and SoftLayer platforms.
One company set to benefit from the new IBM Innovation Space is Bitsoko – a digital currency start-up funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Bitsoko which has been working out of the iHub for the past 6 months has used IBM’s Bluemix platform to develop a mobile wallet application based on Blockchain technology.
The IBM Innovation Space @ iHub, Nairobi will be open this month and follows in the footsteps of similar spaces in New York, Boston, Uberaba (Brazil), Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, Istanbul, Bangalore, New Delhi and Singapore. Nairobi marks the first IBM Innovation Space in Africa with others to follow in the coming months in line with IBM’s investment into innovation ecosystems across the continent.
For more information on iHub, visit:http://www.ihub.co.ke/

I’m so excited to announce that IBM is sponsoring Girls Who Code, a national non-profit dedicated to empowering teenage girls with computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities! I love it! Being a mother of two girls, I know how important it is to nurture girls to embrace STEM-type skills, like coding! And, even better, the girls love it! This Summer, IBM and Girls Who Code will host a group of 20 young women each day for 7 weeks as they learn everything from mobile app development to robotics to web design and ultimately get a chance to build the app they want to see made available. Applications are now being accepted for the 2015 Summer Immersion Program. Current 10th and 11th grade girls with a passion for tech are encouraged to apply. The program is free for participants and no prior experience is necessary.

This is sure to be a life-changing experience! We hope you will spread the word about this fabulous opportunity and encourage the 10th and 11th grade young women in your life to apply today at http://www.girlswhocode.com/applynow.

Here are some tweets you can use to help spread the word! And be sure to follow them on Twitter @GirlsWhoCode!